Leta Watkins
by Julie.fjad
Summary: Death Eater Leta Watkins has been ordered to manipulate Hermione Granger towards the dark side, so she'll be able to mislead Harry Potter, and the Dark Lord will finally be able to kill him. (full summary inside) AU / Canon divergence ; Hermione/OC ; F/F - Complete
1. Ante Historia & Introductio

**Full summary and important information about the canon divergence:**

Draco killed Dumbledore; Severus is therefore still a spy and in the Order's favour. Harry, Hermione and Ron were taken by snatchers, but upon their escape, Hermione was mistakenly left behind in the heat of the moment. Harry in Ron have gone to the Order to ask for help with rescuing Hermione: they are planning a rescue-mission with Severus' aid, as he has inside information.

Leta Watkins is a Death Eater in her late twenties. Her latest task is to convert Hermione Granger in order to later be able to use her as a spy in the Order's camp, as an aid to kill Harry, the Light's symbol of hope, so the Dark Lord will have truly won. Leta is a born manipulator, and has had similar tasks in the past, all of which she successfully completed. However, this time may turn out to be different.

If, when the story is completed or while I'm still posting, any of you still have questions about things that are different in this: do not hesitate to ask.

* * *

 **Chapter 0: Ante Historia**

They had been caught by snatchers, brought to Malfoy Manor, and Hermione had been tortured.

Dobby had come to their rescue, they had fought. Upon the chandelier falling down by Dobby's magic, Bellatrix had pulled Hermione back with her, thrown her behind her.

Harry, Ron and Dobby had thought Bellatrix would let Hermione go, and they had stretched out their hand to their friend when the chandelier started to fall.

They had been wrong.

Dobby had apparated them away, just before any of the Death Eaters could stop them with a spell—Harry and Ron couldn't have apparated alone, due to their lack of wands.

Hermione was left behind.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Introductio**

The Dark Lord had won: the Minister was dead, he was in control of the British ministry of Magic, and he would soon conquer other countries. The only thing that was still in his way to absolute victory was the Light side's figure of hope: Harry Potter. He only needed to kill the boy, and he would have truly won.

Leta, being a Death Eater in her late twenties, was pleased by these developments. She was tasked with going to talk to other lands' leaders and mellowing them to the Dark Lord's power, obviously using some magical influence alongside her manipulation techniques to get them to comply more readily.

Today, she was back in Britain for the first time in three weeks. She had been ordered to go to her Lord as soon as she had returned, so she might report on her work and take up eventual new tasks. So when she had dropped off her luggage at her place, freshened up, and donned her Death Eater-garb, she apparated to Headquarters.

At the entrance, she greeted Rosier, who was just exiting, looking worse for wear – likely he had messed up some task or other – but he didn't quite seem to notice her, occupied as he was with trying to walk upright.

Leta heard the cries emanating from the throne room as soon as she entered the building. Untroubled, she steadily walked on, her cloak and her shoulder-length, auburn hair floating behind her. At the door to the main room stood a low-ranking Death Eater whose name she didn't know.

"He's expecting me."

"Go on in, then," the young man replied, gesturing his head to the tall, ornate doors.

She opened the right door with a wave of her hand and entered.

Instantly, Leta recognised Lucius by his signature hair – his body was vehemently convulsing on the floor at the Dark Lord's feet. The latter seemed quite relaxed, lounging on his throne, wand lazily pointing at the blonde. He glanced up when she entered, having heard the door open, before returning his attention to the tortured man. He ended the Cruciatus and briefly dismissed him: "Leave. Do not disappoint me again."

Lucius scrambled up, and after shooting a quick look at his son, who stood at the room's side – likely waiting for his turn – he left, not bothering to greet or even glance at Leta as he hurried out. Leta was curious about what had happened.

The Dark Lord then spoke, seemingly to no one in particular, "Bring her in now."

One of the Death Eaters standing by the wall, near another door, one slightly behind the throne, slipped away.

Draco was cowering in his spot, seeming to not dare walk up to the Dark Lord. Leta went to stand next to the boy, who was nearly as tall as her nowadays – it had been quite some time since she'd seen him; she hadn't realised the kid had grown up so much already.

"Draco, I will deal with you later. Leave."

The boy was very clearly relieved, and the Dark Lord raised a brow at him when he didn't immediately move, which made Draco quickly scurry off after his father.

The man who had slipped away, entered again through the same door, holding onto a rag of a girl with brown, messy hair that covered her face, prohibiting Leta from potentially recognising her. The Death Eater went to stand at the Dark Lord's side.

Leta calmly walked up to her Lord. She had never had to fear him quite as much as the Malfoys, as she hadn't yet messed up on a task – though she was of course not stupid enough to not fear him at all; she just didn't show her apprehension.

"My Lord," she bowed her head.

"Welcome back, Leta. I trust your discussions with France, Germany and Belgium went well?"

"Indeed, my Lord. Though they weren't all that excited at the proposals made, at first, I eventually succeeded at making them see things from our perspective."

"Very good."

"Thank you, my Lord."

Leta felt eyes on her: the girl was now looking up and observing her curiously. "You must be wondering what she is doing here," the Dark Lord stated more than asked.

She answered anyway. "Yes, my Lord."

"Do you recognise her?"

Now that he had given her permission, Leta turned her head to look at the prisoner. Now that the girl had her head up and her hair had mostly fallen back from her face, she was much more recognisable.

"This is Hermione Granger, best friend to Harry Potter, is it not?"

"It is, indeed. I would like for you to take her with you."

Both Hermione and Leta looked at him with surprise.

"If I may, my Lord," Leta tentatively asked, "Why?"

"Because you will be turning her to our side. You succeeded already with miss Jones, so surely this shouldn't be too taxing."

"Of course, my Lord. Will you be requiring updates?"

"I will call upon you regularly, yes. Do you have your reports with you?"

"Yes, my Lord," she nodded, stepping forward to hand him the three folders in which she had made the notes about her recent task.

He looked over them, quickly, before nodding and looking up.

"You may go," he dismissed her, "Do not forget your new charge."

The Death Eater holding her, let her go, pushing her towards Leta, and Hermione didn't quite seem to know whether to scramble back or run, so just remained frozen some distance away from Leta.

Leta thought of something, and looked back at her Lord, "My Lord, just one more thing: is she suicidal?"

"She is not."

Leta nodded. She knew it was standard practise for him to use Legilimency on high-level prisoners, to find out what accommodations would be most fitting, depending on whether they were suicidal, would self-mutilate, would be aggressively violent towards their warden, and some other factors, and therefore trusted his word. The girl's desire to live would make things much easier.

Knowing she would have to build up trust, Leta walked two steps closer and stretched out an inviting hand, attempting to soften her facial expression to an inviting smile, "Come on," she nodded encouragingly.

"Today, please," the Dark Lord said in a tone that was both threatening and bored.

Leta raised her eyebrows impatiently. Finally, the girl came towards her. She didn't take the proffered hand. As though waiting for instruction, she remained standing next to Leta, but still not too close.

"Let's go," Leta spoke, leading the way, trusting for the girl to follow, as she was smart enough to not invite the Dark Lord's wrath by not complying.

Hermione quietly followed her outside, where they crossed paths with Severus Snape. Leta had just taken a hold of Hermione's upper arm, ready to side-along the girl. "Ah, Leta," Severus greeted, seemingly ignoring Hermione's presence. Leta had spotted his quick alarmed look, though, as he had clearly not been expecting to see the girl here or in her presence. But, as usual, the man had quickly schooled his expression again. "Back from your trip?"

She hummed, nodding in the positive, "I just returned today, actually."

"Hm. New task?" he questioned, gesturing to Hermione.

"Yes," she briefly replied. Leta hid her curiousness about his behaviour behind a smile. She knew the man had taught the girl, but still, he was acting rather oddly.

"Wish I could talk longer, but I need to get home to unpack, and you don't want to let the Dark Lord wait for you," she changed the subject, effectively ending the conversation.

"Indeed. Have a nice day."

"You too," she nodded, before turning on the spot and escaping his investigative gaze.

They landed in an alleyway next to Leta's building. Hermione remained quiet, though Leta saw her look around curiously when she glanced at her.

When she let go of Hermione's upper arm and took a hold of her hand instead, the girl looked up at her questioningly. Leta merely said: "Act natural."

She led the girl out into the street, around the corner, and towards the front door of the apartment-complex. She was about to step forward and push open the door, when one of her neighbours came out: a nice woman of about forty named Maria.

"Oh hey, Leta!" she greeted, "And who's this?" the woman asked, looking at Hermione, before turning her gaze back to Leta, raising her eyebrows teasingly, "Your new girlfriend?"

From the corner of her eye, Leta noticed Hermione's widening eyes, and quickly squeezed her hand to remind her of what she had just ordered.

"She is indeed," Leta smiled, easily putting up a show of being happy and in love. She let go of Hermione's hand to clasp her around the shoulders and pull her closer, "Hermione," she introduced, "this is Maria, my neighbour, Maria, meet Hermione."

"Hi," Hermione squeaked.

"Hi! Nice to meet you, Hermione," Maria smiled kindly. The woman looked back to Leta, and spoke, "We will definitely continue this conversation, but not now: I have to get to my parents'."

"Oh, yes, sure. See you later," Leta nodded, still smiling.

"Later! And have fun!" Maria replied over her shoulder as she dashed towards the alley Leta and Hermione had just come from.

As soon as the woman was gone, she let the smile drop off her face, and took Hermione by the hand again. She pushed open the door and headed for the staircase, pulling the girl along.

They entered her apartment, and when Leta had closed the door and reset the wards, she finally let go of Hermione's hand—now certain no one could see them and she couldn't run off. She took the luggage she had left at the door, and walked down the hall.

"Come on, I'll show you around."

Hermione hesitatingly followed, not quite knowing what to expect.

As Leta passed doors, she pointed out to what they led, until she reached the door at the end of the hall and entered – her bedroom. Hermione lingered in the doorway as Leta started unpacking her baggage.

"The door facing this one will be your room. I haven't done anything to it yet, though, since I didn't know I'd be having a house guest."

Upon receiving no answer, Leta paused her movements and looked up at the fidgeting girl. "You do know you are allowed to speak, right?" she asked rhetorically.

"Why am I here?" Hermione finally asked. "What are you going to do to me?"

Pleased at the progress, Leta continued to unpack. "Oh, nothing unpleasant—unless you fail to comply of course."

"Who is Jones?" was the girl's next question.

"Hestia Jones was sort of in your position, some time ago."

Hermione gasped, and Leta looked up, "You know her? Oh, right, she's been stationed in the Order, right?"

"That's not possible," Hermione shook her head. "She helped us protect Harry."

"Yes, quite the caring witch, isn't she? I taught her how to put up such a show."

"You're lying," Hermione exclaimed, quickly covering her mouth with her hands as she realised what had slipped out. Her eyes widened.

Leta stood up straight, leaving her bags for the moment, and approached Hermione, who was stepping back. The girl was stopped in her retreat by the door at her back.

"Excuse me?"

"It's—It's just—Nothing. I didn't mean to say that," she stuttered, clearly fearful.

Leta leaned closer, and grazed the trembling girl's cheek with the tips of her fingers, which only made her eyes widen even more. "Oh, love," Leta tilted her head as she looked at her, "You mistake me for the Dark Lord. I merely wish to know why you would say such a thing."

Hermione frowned, apprehensive and fearful, not knowing what to do with this new information.

"Well?" Leta asked when she received no answer. She lowered her fingers to the girl's chin and slightly tilted up her head. Her voice was soft.

"I—I just can't believe Hestia would betray us."

"She didn't, technically. She was trained by me, before being put in Dumbledore's path."

Hermione's frown deepened, "But he'd have noticed."

"He didn't, because the woman was a very gifted occlumens, and the Headmaster was too naïve to think a nice girl like her would ever be on our side."

"But—"

Leta covered Hermione's lips with a finger, "Shh. No more talk of unchangeable things. How about I finish my unpacking later, and we make dinner?" She took her finger off the girl's lips, so she could answer.

"S—Sure," Hermione nodded slightly, frowning slightly at the rather mundane plan.

"Good," Leta smiled. She looked Hermione's face up and down once more before stepping back. "Why don't you go ahead to the kitchen and look whether I have something edible around?"

Still hesitating, Hermione nodded again, before walking towards the door that had been indicated to her, periodically looking over her shoulder at Leta, not trusting the woman enough to fully turn her back to her. Leta looked after her until she had reached the kitchen and left her sight. She then opened Hermione's room and went in to open the window to refresh the room, which hadn't been used for a long time. She also cast a general cleaning spell, and put fresh sheets on the bed. Next, she gathered her bag of dirty clothing in her own room and went to the washer to put them in, so it could be washed while she did other things – she preferred the machine over a spell because it made her clothes softer, and didn't like to wash them by hand, even if she let a spell assist her, since it made her lose time she could use to do something else.

When she got to the kitchen, she found Hermione sitting at the table, looking at her hands. The girl looked up when she heard her enter.

"Found something?"

"Yes: left-over noodles under a stasis charm." Hermione looked back down at her hands.

"Perfect. Let me heat it up, and we'll eat."

After dinner, which they had eaten in silence, Leta asked, "So tell me, how did we get a hold of you?"

Hermione looked up quite surprised.

"I only returned today from my business trip, so I don't know about much that has happened here in Britain in the last few weeks."

"Snatchers. My friends got away."

"Harry Potter and Ron Weasley?"

Hermione merely nodded.

"Alright. Why don't you go take a shower while I clean up. It's getting late. If you have any remaining wounds, you may use the ointments and bandages you'll find in the medicine cabinet."

Leta didn't worry about leaving her alone, and that made Hermione uncomfortable: what had the woman planned? Why wasn't she predictable like the other Death Eaters, instead of seeming, frankly, nice and normal. She didn't know what to expect.

* * *

 **A/N:** I may one day expand on the scenes of this story further, but for now I'm publishing it as it is. It is mostly done, and so will definitely not get abandoned: I merely have to get the last round of editing done. It should have eleven chapters (unless I change something last minute, which is rather unlikely). I may yet add a postscript after the eleventh chapter to clarify some of the realities in this AU/Canon divergence.

Let me know what you think. Please tell me if you find any errors (spelling or otherwise). Thank you.


	2. Maledictum

**Chapter 2: Maledictum**

The next day, Leta showed Hermione her library, which comprised books on various subjects.

The girl had immediately fallen in love with the room; it was clear she was a bookworm who had not seen books for quite some time. But very soon after this initial reaction, the girl had questioned her about why she had shown her this room.

"Because I want you to read up on some things," Leta had honestly replied, "those books in particular," she motioned to a pile of five books on a side table. They ranged from light magic being used for dark intentions, to dark magic.

Hermione had stubbornly shook her head, "I won't be turned to the dark side, I don't want to read those books."

Leta was not scared to be harsh, so had replied, "You will read those books. I wouldn't advise you to inspect any other ones here, since they are spelled with rather nasty hexes and a few with curses you wouldn't be too happy to encounter. You will stay in this room until you have read those books: the first two I want you to have read tonight; I will then talk with you about them, this evening. If you fail to do this, you will be stuck in this room until you have read them, and starting tomorrow, you will then start feeling quite uncomfortable, I can imagine," Leta had warned, without further elaboration about the reason for discomfort. "I do not wish to hurt you, but as I already told you, you will have to comply with my orders, if you want your stay to be pleasant. And my orders aren't that bad, as I'm sure your rational mind can easily figure out."

Hermione had had her arms crossed and she had been frowning. Her enthusiasm about the library was gone.

"See you later, Hermione," Leta had said to her before she left.

She had felt the wards the woman put over the room come down as soon as the door closed: she was stuck.

She now decided, after some time in which became clear the woman would not return, that she would have a look at the first two books, to evaluate whether they were not too dark and she could read them. Hermione was intrigued with the subject – both were about situations in which light spells turn dark due to their caster's intentions – but worried that the books would alter her view on the Light.

She decided she would be able to handle whatever Leta would send her way starting tomorrow, and settled in an armchair, starting to debate about how she might escape this place. Likely Harry and Ron had returned to the Order to tell them of what had happened, and all were now probably planning on how to get her out. However she had seen and understood Professor Snape's reaction to her being with Leta: it would be much harder to rescue her when being held here, at a house who knows where and surrounded by wards who knows how strong.

In the evening, when dinner was ready, Leta went to the Library door and checked by way of magic whether Hermione had read the books, or even touched them. She found out the girl had indeed touched the two assigned books, but only long enough to see what they were about. She wasn't all that surprised. Thankfully, the girl had also been smart enough to not touch anything on the shelves, Leta's diagnostic spell told her. Sighing, she opened the door.

"Since you have not done as you were told, you will face the repercussions. Unlike at noon today, you will not get food until you have read those two books. You will stay hydrated by magic, and will get a kind of supplements through the same way so you won't get sick, but you will be hungry, along with the not-so-nice feeling that will begin creeping up to you starting tomorrow – all these elements have been implemented in the wards I put on this room. Good night."

* * *

Admirably, it took Hermione two days before she succumbed to the spell Leta had warned her about. At first, she had been sitting in her chair, every now and then unconsciously swatting at something she seemed to feel on her skin. Later, this feeling had become more frequent, and she had become aware of it: she had started looking whether a wayward hair was annoying her, but she hadn't found anything. That's when she realised what was going on: this was the progressive curse Leta had cast to make her comply. Hermione thought this was manageable and didn't understand why Leta would use this as a persuasion technique.

Four hours later, she started to understand: by now, almost constantly she felt like there were bugs crawling over her, but still she did not give in.

By the end of the second day, though, she was ready to scream: she had not slept, and now she was seeing the first few bugs as they crawled under her skin. She hit the things, but only hurt herself.

She was literally rolling on the floor, trying to squish them, when Leta found her.

"Get them off, make it stop," Hermione begged her as soon as she saw the woman.

Leta stood tall next to the squirming figure, emotionless. "Will you read the books?"

"Yes, yes, anything, please just make it stop."

With a wave of her wand, and a _Finite_ , Leta cancelled the spell. Hermione curled up in a ball, still occasionally shuddering, exhausted. Leta crouched next to her and caressed her hair.

"Shh, you will never have to experience that again if in the future you heed my warnings."

Hermione was too relieved and tired to care much about anything at this point, and just nodded, oddly enjoying the firm yet soft strokes of Leta's hand. She didn't protest when Leta helped her up and into the sofa, sitting next to her and allowing Hermione to lean on her. The girl fell asleep from exhaustion soon, and Leta stood, laying the girl down in a way she would be comfortable. She then put the two first books on the table nearest Hermione's head, and left her to rest.

She was smiling when she walked out of the room: step one was complete.


	3. Delectatio

**Chapter 3: Delectatio**

During Hermione's stay with Leta, the Death Eater was regularly summoned to Headquarters for updates. About every two weeks, she would feel her mark burning, and tell Hermione she had to go out. She always warded her apartment securely, and was confident the girl wouldn't be able to get out, especially not without a wand.

The first time Leta had been summoned, was three weeks after she had taken in the young witch.

"I'm going out. I don't know yet when I'll be back exactly, but tomorrow I'll have returned," Leta informed Hermione, who was reading in the library.

She looked up, frowning, "Oh, ok. Where are you going?"

Leta merely smirked, but didn't answer: she knew the girl would figure it out. She left the apartment, put up the wards again, and walked to the alley, where she vanished.

At Headquarters, several Death Eaters stood around the sitting room that led to the throne room, talking among each other, waiting for their turn to talk to the Dark Lord – some were there to ask for their new task, some were there because they had questions about orders they had been given, and some were there simply to socialize with friends. Those waiting generally hadn't been summoned by the Dark Lord, and thus could wait.

Leta entered, and as she walked through the room, she greeted her colleagues and friends when she passed them. She locked eyes with Bellatrix, and she hoped this meeting wouldn't take too long, as it had been a long time since she had caught up with the woman, and she'd like to do so tonight.

She entered the throne room through the door at the other end of the sitting room.

"Good evening, my Lord."

"Leta. How is your charge?"

"Well. She has started on the reading I imposed her – the books you advised with Hestia – after a short bout of rebellion, which I quenched with the Crawling Curse. I have also been giving her a few introductory exercises to Occlumency. She has been very inquisitive about the reading material, and seems rather invested in the subject, now that she is actively studying it," she summarised.

"Good," the Dark Lord nodded.

He asked a couple of follow-up questions, asked to expand upon a few details, and about the agenda she had planned out, but soon enough, he was satisfied with the information acquired.

"You will continue this way. I will summon you regularly for updates."

"Of course, my Lord."

"You may go."

"Thank you, my Lord. Good night."

Leta bowed respectfully, then turned on her heels and returned to the sitting room. As soon as she entered, Bellatrix stepped away from her conversation partners to meet her.

"Good evening, Leta," she greeted, leaning forward for a hug.

"Bella," Leta returned the greeting as she hugged the woman back.

"How have you been?"

"Good. Let's get out of here."

The glint in Bellatrix' eyes indicated she had similar intentions. "Let's."

Outside, they apparated to a wizarding bar they frequented. The two women were left alone by anyone but their server, as Bellatrix was very recognisable to anyone. They preferred it this way.

Sipping their drinks, they talked about things that had happened in their lives since they had met last. Bellatrix was again complaining about her husband, as usual, and Leta distracted her with tales of things she had done and seen on her business trips.

When both were more than a bit tipsy, around two in the morning, they decided to leave. Sexual tension had risen along with their alcohol consumption, and at this point, they wanted to go find a private spot.

Arm-in-arm, they apparated, Leta leading them, as she had drunk less than her companion. They managed to arrive in Leta's alley in one piece, and once there, Bellatrix attacked the other woman with her lips on her neck. Leta sunk her hands in Bella's wild curls, moaning her enjoyment.

"Come, let's go inside, it's warmer there."

Leta took Bellatrix by the hand and tugged her along. At the door, as Leta dismantled the wards, Bella was behind her, kissing and biting her neck, distracting her, though she eventually managed to open the door. Leta knew Hermione was in the apartment, but couldn't bring herself to care; she was too drunk to. She was lucid enough to shush at Bellatrix, however, who giggled at that.

"Right, the mudblood's here," her whisper was quite loud.

After Leta had put the wards in place again, they got to Leta's room, where she cast a modified silencing spell, so they wouldn't wake her temporary housemate—she knew the both of them enough to be aware that it was needed.

* * *

The next morning, both Bellatrix and Leta were woken simultaneously by a surprised shriek. The two women immediately, instinctively, grabbed their wands and pointed to the door, where the sound had come from, only vaguely aware of their naked state.

Hermione stood in the doorway, clearly shocked and scared, staring widely at them. As soon as Leta saw who had shrieked, she flopped back down on the mattress with a sigh, lowering her wand. She also pushed down Bella's wand, which was still pointed at the girl.

"What the hell, Hermione," Leta groaned. She rubbed her eyes. When there was no answer, she looked back to where the girl stood.

Bellatrix now also lay back down after putting her wand back on the bedside table, leaning against the headboard. Annoyed by the lack of explanation, she raised an eyebrow. "Well? What is it, mudblood?"

"I—um, I'll do it myself. No worries." Having overcome the first reaction of shock, Hermione was now bright red and looked down. "Sorry." She turned and vanished in the direction of the kitchen.

"What time is it?" Leta asked distractedly, mostly talking to herself. She checked the clock on her nightstand, and was wide awake again. "Damn it!"

She went to get up, but Bellatrix pulled her back down, and lay on top of her so she couldn't leave. "We can have another round…" she suggestively raised an eyebrow, before leaning down closer to kiss Leta, and starting to explore her body with her hands.

With a reluctant groan, Leta broke the kiss, "I can't, Bella. I have things to do."

She sighed, "Yeah, what, educating the mudblood? It can wait." The woman continued kissing down Leta's neck.

"No, it can't," Leta firmly replied, pulling away, "I have an agenda I need to follow, and we were supposed to start today's lessons two hours ago." She pushed the woman off, and got up.

When she returned from the bathroom, Bellatrix still lay on the bed, in a rather enticing position.

"Can I watch?"

"Watch what?" Leta started to apply her dark red lipstick.

"Your lessons. I want to know how badly she's butchering the Dark Arts."

"She isn't, actually; she quite proficient, from what I've seen so far. And I'd rather you not watch, I don't think she'd be happy to have you around."

"Why ever not?" Bella innocently asked.

Leta turned and looked at her pointedly.

"I only tortured her for a bit," she said as though to defend herself.

Leta didn't budge.

Bellatrix sighed dramatically, and finally got up. "Fine, fine." She cast a quick cleaning spell, and put on her clothes.

Leta watched her through the mirror while putting on her mascara, enjoying the view.

They walked to the front door together, and Leta took down the wards, so the door could be opened.

Bella leaned in, and kissed her deeply.

"Have fun with your little mudblood," she said when they separated.

Leta smirked, "Oh, I will."

Bella smirked back, and left, calling out, "Until next time!"

Leta closed the door, and turned towards the kitchen, where she saw Hermione, who sat in clear view of the front door and had likely seen them say goodbye, especially judging by the girl's blushing, downturned face.

"Good morning," Leta greeted, grabbing herself a cup, grounds and water, which she quickly and efficiently made herself coffee from magically. She then started to make herself French toast. "Want some?" she asked, gesturing to her pan.

Hermione had half-heartedly returned the greeting, and now mumbled a quiet, "No."

Leta sat down at the table with her plate, and looked at the girl. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, sure. It was just an unexpected morning."

"Right, sorry about that." She was not the slightest bit sorry; she was more amused than anything. Though she could understand that Hermione wasn't exactly comfortable with Bellatrix being near, since she had been tortured by the woman, the last time she had seen her. "Why was it, now, that you walked in on us?"

"I wanted some coffee, but couldn't wandlessly heat the water. I called for you, but when you didn't reply, I went to your room to knock, to which you still didn't answer, so I opened the door."

"Ah," Leta made a mental note to close the door magically, in the future, "Want some coffee still?"

"No, thanks."

Leta summoned the ingredients, too lazy to get up, and made another cup anyway. She didn't miss Hermione's smile when she accepted the cup. "Thank you."

Leta simply nodded in acknowledgment.

Soon after, they went to work. Nothing more was said about the somewhat embarrassing incident of that morning. If anything, really, it had helped Hermione see that Leta, and even Bellatrix, were human too, and also subject to sexual desires.


	4. Proximior

**Chapter 4: Proximior**

The next weeks Hermione spent a lot of time reading, and when she wasn't, she talked with Leta about her findings. Leta also taught her how to lie convincingly and how to use occlumency to keep people out of her head. Leta trained her enough that hardly anyone would be able to see her mind without Hermione feeling it. From then on, most people would have to either cast _Occlumens_ , or have Hermione open her mind to that person's scrutiny, or they'd not be able to access more than the tip of the iceberg when it came to the girl's mind.

After the bug-incident, Leta had been very nice to her in all aspects – after all, she had not refused to read or discuss books, since – and after about two months, Hermione had already gotten almost used to living with Leta. Her mind was filled with wondrously fascinating things she had read, things she had never even heard or thought of before, and occasionally, since about six weeks of being in Leta's apartment, she was allowed to practise spells with her wand, which the Dark Lord had given to Leta at one of their meetings.

Hermione missed her friends, but even though she had been taken, this life wasn't that bad. She felt almost happy: she was learning so many things, unlimited by labels of 'Light' and 'Dark', and Leta herself was a very nice and even fun person to be around. The woman also loved reading and learning, and had an odd but entertaining sense of humour. Hermione had actually been thinking less about escaping with every day that went by, but the times she realised this, she felt guilty, and tried to forget about it: of course she wanted to see her friends again! But she also wanted to learn more here, and talk more to the interesting, not at all stereotypical Death Eater, who had turned more into a roommate and a study-partner in her eyes, instead of an enemy.

* * *

"You know, you're not what I expected," Hermione suddenly said.

They were both reading a book, each in a corner of the sofa.

Leta looked up, "Oh?"

"You're not like the other Death Eaters; you're not sadistic, or crazy, or some serial killer. And you're actually quite nice."

Leta smiled. Hermione thought it was an appreciative smile. It wasn't. Leta was pleased Hermione finally worded what Leta had been working towards; she had noticed the girl loosening up around her, but Hermione hadn't admitted how she felt yet. Now she finally had. This was a big step forward.

"Why, thank you. Though if you'd like I can still torture you, you know," Leta winked.

Hermione smiled widely, used to Leta's sense of humour. "No thank you, I'm good."

At first, Hermione had been taking every word out of Leta's mouth literally, but she had quickly learned Leta was often being sarcastic and had begun appreciating the humour.

* * *

Two nights later, Leta thought it was time for a nice reward: she decided to take Hermione out to a relatively high-end restaurant.

Hermione stood in Leta's bedroom's doorway. "But why?"

"Because I want to. You can stay here if you want, and I'll go with someone else," Leta shrugged as she was putting on her mascara.

"No! No, I'd love to go. I was just wondering…"

Leta looked at the girl through her mirror, "No secondary intentions. I merely think you deserve to get out for once."

The truth was, Leta did this to gain more trust, to act like she trusted Hermione enough to not run off. Every single one of her moves was calculated, as always.

Putting down the mascara and picking up her lipstick, she continued, "Go check your closet: I hung a dress in there you could wear tonight."

Hermione didn't look surprised; since her first day as Leta's charge, she had been provided with clothing and other essentials. The clothes she wore these days were quite similar to Leta's style: black, calf-length dresses. Today was different however: when she opened her closet, prepared to find yet another black dress, she instead saw a dark red A-line dress with a V-neck. Pleasantly surprised at the change of colour and style, she took it to the bathroom, to get ready. Once she had put it on, she noticed the dress' cut was different to the others too: it came to a bit above her knee, and the neckline was cut deeper than usual, though not uncomfortably so.

She was quite happy with it. She was standing before the mirror in her room when Leta knocked on her door, telling her they had to leave soon.

"I'm ready," she replied, turning away from the mirror and heading to the door.

* * *

The restaurant Leta had picked was nice: good food, nice personnel, and a pleasant atmosphere. Hermione had a great time, and even forgot who she was with – though she would never admit it.

Leta told her about her family: her father, a very kind man, and a smart and talented wizard too; and her mother, an abusive alcoholic, who left her when Leta had become a strong enough witch to defend herself.

"Is that why you joined Him?" Hermione asked, recalling who she was with exactly.

"It was part of the reason, certainly. I recall reading about him in the newspaper before he disappeared, and being in awe of his power. I wanted to be that powerful, so I could stop my mother and people like her. So, when he had returned, I went to inform myself. I talked to some people, and found out where he was. Then, I went to introduce myself."

"But you're a half-blood?"

"So are many of his followers, and many of us had a bad childhood because of that one muggle parent. If he has good reason to believe one would be beneficial to the cause, he accepts them."

"So why were you accepted?"

With a teasing smile, Leta asked, "Why, don't you think me powerful enough?"

"You know that's not what I meant," Hermione replied, smiling as well.

"He found out I'm good at negotiating, so that's the specific skill why he accepted me."

"So that's why you need to go on business trips?"

"Exactly," she nodded.

Their conversation went on, and at a certain point, turned to relationships.

"So tell me, is it true you are involved with one or both of you closest friends?"

Hermione almost choked on her drink. "What? No! Why would you think that?"

Leta shrugged, she was smirking. "Well, when people see how close you are, they start to wonder..."

"Let me guess, it's only the depraved minds of some Death Eaters who are wondering."

Leta laughed, "True. But seriously, between us girls, any feelings there?" She winked.

Hermione blushed, "Definitely not Harry, he's like a brother to me."

"But..."

"But I used to have feelings for Ron, I think."

"You think?" Leta prompted.

"Well, he was the first one to show a real interest, you know, and I was flattered, I suppose. But he's really immature, not at all interested in anything I'm interested in, and I could never have a really intellectual talk with him like—" she stopped for a second, seemingly coming to a realisation, "Well, like with you for instance."

Leta nodded understandingly and smiled.

On the way home, the two women were still animatedly talking. Leta was pleased with herself: this was the most relaxed Hermione had ever been in her presence. She was truly making a lot of progress, these days. The lessons in Dark Magic had been going well as soon as Hermione had gotten over the term 'Dark Magic', but her behaviour had still been quite apprehensive. Not anymore. The Dark Lord would be pleased.

Leta found herself enjoying the outing as well – it had actually felt an awful lot like a date. Every time these thoughts entered her conscious mind, however, she shook them off.

They sat down on the sofa in the living room, side by side. Leta summoned two glasses and a bottle of red wine. She filled both glasses halfway, and passed one to Hermione, who took it without a second thought.

Their conversation stopped for a bit as they both took a sip.

"I had a really nice time," Hermione then said.

Leta smiled and turned on the sofa, leaning her arm on the backrest to better see her. "Me too."

Suddenly, when the girl had looked up to see her sit sideways on the couch, Leta saw Hermione's eyes drop to her lips, stare for a moment, before apparently realising what she was doing and turning away, blinking confusedly. The girl turned red. Leta frowned. Maybe…

"You know," she then spoke, pretending to not have noticed Hermione's embarrassment, "I forgot to tell you how beautiful you look in that dress."

Hermione turned her head back to look at her for a second, before moving her eyes away and evading her gaze again. "Thank you," she whispered more than spoke.

Leta brushed a bit of hair away from Hermione's face, making the girl look up like a deer in headlights.

Slowly, so she could evade her if she changed her mind, Leta leaned in. Hermione didn't move. Softly, Leta pressed her lips to Hermione's. She didn't quite react, but she didn't pull back either. When Leta pulled back, she saw Hermione had closed her eyes and her face was still red. Her eyes fluttered open, but closed again when Leta leaned in to whisper by her ear, "Good night."

Soon, she was gone, leaving a flustered and confused Hermione in her wake.


	5. Iunctio

**Chapter 5: Iunctio**

The next few days passed as though nothing had happened. Leta acted completely normal, knowing she needed to give the girl some space.

On the outside, Hermione did her best to appear unmoved as well, but inside she was constantly worrying and analysing what had happened. She was still confused: why had she let the woman kiss her? Had she fallen for her?

And what about Bellatrix? Were they seriously involved – despite Bellatrix' marital status; Leta being her mistress, strictly speaking – but if so, why had the woman kissed her?

The more she thought about it, the more she had to admit: Hermione was definitely interested in Leta. She was intelligent, fun to have discussions and debates with, a surprisingly nice person, considering the circumstances, and, if Hermione was really honest with herself, Leta was very attractive. Other than the way Leta had forced her to read the books, she had been nothing but pleasant. And really, that spell had not been that bad, considering what another Death Eater would have done to her if she hadn't acquiesced – just as Leta had said: it had been uncomfortable, and yes, probably maddening if she had not given in, but she only had to read books; that wasn't so bad, it wasn't as though she had had to kill someone.

It worried her that the only arguments against Leta she had, were dissipating when she thought about them with more attention.

And, independent of any romantic feelings, it worried her even more that she was starting to see things from a new perspective; she no longer was entirely on the Light side. She could see now how people on the side of the so-called good could be just as bad as those on the Dark side, and the other way around: someone like Leta was the perfect example of someone who didn't seem to be all bad either, as Hermione had been told all these years. What the Order wanted her to believe wasn't true: the world wasn't as black and white as they painted it; there were many shades of grey, and hardly anyone was entirely Light or entirely Dark.

Was she being manipulated, or was she finally seeing the truth? A nagging feeling in the back of her head was telling her it was the latter.

* * *

The fifth day after their night out, Hermione decided she would talk to Leta. She needed someone to talk to about her worries, and despite Leta not being a neutral party, she couldn't help but feel that the woman would understand and help her.

Evening came and the two women sat at the table, eating. All this time, Leta had been acting very normally, but it seemed as though tonight she had noticed Hermione had something to get off her chest:

"Is there something you wanted to tell me?" she asked simply, in a tone that suggested a negative answer would be fine too.

Hermione put down the fork with which she had been dabbling in her plate. "Yes," she looked up to see Leta calmly continuing eating, not making her nervous by focussing on her instead. "But before I say anything, I would like for you to try and be as neutral as possible."

Leta looked at the girl for a moment, then nodded, "Of course."

Hermione took a deep breath, "So, I've been thinking, and I have come to the conclusion that the world is different than what I have been taught for all these years: the world isn't black and white, almost no one is truly entirely Dark or entirely Light. Most everything and everyone is grey."

Leta smiled, pleased. "That is true."

"And it's just so strange. I mean, my Professors at Hogwarts, the Headmaster, the Order, all my friends and their families, they have always been telling me that Death Eaters are bad, and evil, and dark, and wicked. But you—" she looked up, "You aren't like that. You are nice, and—well, you're not evil or anything like that. And I've seen Mr Malfoy: he also seems to just want to protect his family, but he's wrecked by all that's been happening, though at the same time he can be cruel. And I'm sure there are so many more Death Eaters like you. Then, on the other side there's Professor Dumbledore: he was best friends with Grindelwald, once. I mean—I just don't know what to think anymore."

Leta had remained silent to let the girl express her thoughts, and was very pleased with this progress. "This grey world you described, that is the truth. I'm sorry you have been told otherwise, that those closest to you have hidden the truth from you for so long."

"But how could I not have seen this! It's so logical, but until now, it never even occurred to me that not all is black and white."

"Because, as a child, you were taught about good and bad, like any young child. Then, when you entered the magical world, this illusion was kept up, everything and everyone was either good or bad, there were good guys – most of those in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff – and bad guys – the Slytherins. Books were either good and accessible, or bad and in the restricted section. Spells were good and you were allowed to use them, or bad and you would be punished for using those. In you formative years, you were brought up with a worldview of good versus bad, with no nuances. It's very understandable you weren't able to see through all that."

Hermione nodded in understanding, and slowly started to smile. "Thank you for letting me see the truth."

Leta returned the smile, "You're welcome. So now that we're over that part: what did bring you to that conclusion, exactly?"

A blush started to appear on Hermione's cheeks again, and she looked down at her plate once more. "Well, I—um, I was thinking of—" Hermione shook her head as if rethinking her words, "No. I first want to know about—well, about Bellatrix, and..."

Now Leta was entirely focussed on her. Guessing the question, she finished, "...and what's between me and her?"

Hermione nodded.

"We sometimes fuck," Leta replied honestly, not caring about crude wording, "when we feel like it. No strings attached."

This explanation seemed to please Hermione, who nodded her understanding, and she continued her interrupted answer to the previous question, "Well, I came to that conclusion, because I was thinking of that—that kiss, and I was kind of weighing the positive against the negative..."

"The positive and the negative of what?"

The girl looked up again, still clearly shy, "The positive and the negative of a relationship with you," she replied with honesty, her voice softer than before.

Her elbows on the table, she leaned forward, towards Hermione. "And what decision have you come to?" Leta asked, lowering her voice as well.

For a few moments, Hermione seemed to be searching for words, but then she blurted out: "I'd like to kiss you again."

Leta smiled. She stood and held out her hand. Hermione took it and stood as well. Leta led her to the couch in the living room, where they both sat down facing each other. She framed Hermione's face and leaned in to press her lips to hers in a soft kiss. This time, Hermione reciprocated.

They did not go further than kissing and some light touching that evening, but both were very satisfied with how the night had turned out.

* * *

From then on, Leta began to allow Hermione much more: they often went out in Muggle London to go visit culture and libraries, to go dancing, shopping, drinking, eating. They regularly cuddled and were affectionate in general.

Leta had also let Bella know that she wouldn't be available for a fuck for some time, which clearly pleased Hermione immensely when she told her. Bellatrix knew that this was part of Leta's manipulation of Hermione and would aid in the girl's indoctrination, but she still made clear to Leta that she wasn't too happy about it, upon which Leta replied they would reconcile as soon as she would have sent Hermione into the field, back to the Order, to truly commence her spy career, which had placated the woman somewhat.

* * *

More and more, Hermione acclimatised to this new life, this new relationship, and she was truly happy. She avoided thinking about home and her friends, since that only made her feel guilty. She couldn't exactly do anything about her situation, could she? So why not enjoy it, enjoy Leta? Whether her friends would have this opinion about her behaviour, was debatable.


	6. Summum

**Chapter 6: Summum**

One day in the beginning of August, Hermione's rather carefree life got more than a healthy dose of reality: the Dark Lord wanted to see her.

"What do you mean, 'he wants to see me'?" Hermione questioned, slightly panicking.

Leta was searching for something in her closet, "Just that. He likely wants to ask some questions about how your studies are, what your view is on…"

"I am not Dark!" Hermione exclaimed.

Leta stopped her search and turned to look at her, hearing the panic in her voice. Seeing the wide, scared eyes, she walked towards her. She framed the girl's face and looked straight in her eyes. "You don't have to be so fearful, love, I will be with you, I'll protect you."

"But what if—" she started, but Leta cut her off with a kiss, which she almost immediately deepened. She felt the tension slip away and Hermione melted in her arms. When she felt the girl had calmed down, she slowly broke the kiss.

"Better?" she asked.

Hermione's eyes fluttered open again. "Yes," she breathed.

Leta smiled, "Good. Now, what you need to know is this: he will ask you how you are, what you have been studying, and simultaneously he will be probing your mind to know your views—therefore: have an open mind, like I taught you, or he'll not be pleased."

Fear entered Hermione's eyes again, so Leta quickly appeased her: "You will not get tortured, because I know you will pass the test. No, you're not dark, but you're grey, and for your position, I suspect that's enough. Besides, as you said yourself, hardly anyone is purely dark."

Hermione swallowed and nodded understandingly.

"So go and put on a black dress and cloak; we'll leave soon."

* * *

Hermione was remarkably calm next to her, Leta noted as they apparated near the doors to Headquarters. Although, when they entered the building and came in hearing range of the screams, Hermione did start to walk closer to her.

When they entered the throne room, the screams had stopped, and an unidentifiable figure passed them in the doorway. Hermione backed away from them as they passed and pressed herself into Leta's front. Instinctively, Leta took her by the middle. As soon as the person was gone, however, Leta immediately let her go, not needing the Dark Lord and others who may be present to see their familiarity – even though the Dark Lord was likely about to see much more of that in Hermione's mind.

The two women walked side by side up to the Dark Lord. This time there were no other Death Eaters waiting, but Bellatrix was present, standing at the Dark Lord's side; the woman recognised Hermione easily and called out, "Mudblood!" with wicked glee, making Hermione flinch.

"Good evening, Leta, Miss Granger," the Dark Lord greeted, ignoring Bella.

"Good evening, my Lord," Leta spoke as she bowed her head.

With less conviction, Hermione said, "My Lord," as she quickly bowed her head as well. The Dark Lord seemed pleased.

"Bella, leave us."

The woman pouted, but after winking and waving at Leta, who smirked back, left the room.

"So tell me, how have you been?"

Clearly, judging by Hermione's facial expression, Leta wasn't the only one who found it odd to see the Dark Lord seemingly making small talk.

"Good, Sir."

"Hm, apparently you have. Leta has given you material to study?"

"Yes, Sir; I've been working on a wide range of hexes, spells, enchantments, and potions, ranging from the Light- to the Dark Arts."

"And she has been doing well?" he questioned Leta.

"She has, my Lord."

"Is she ready, according to you?"

Despite worrying it wasn't what he wanted to hear, she decided to go with honesty: "I think not, my Lord."

"Why?" He was unreadable.

"Changing one's perception of the world is a tricky thing, my Lord, however I think we're almost there."

He nodded curtly, not commenting further on the matter. "I need you to go fetch me a book in Switzerland. Perhaps you can take your pet along."

"Of course, my Lord."

"All the information you'll need, you'll find in this scroll," he levitated a piece of parchment to her, which she quickly glanced over, before putting it in her pocket. "I expect you to be back tomorrow evening. A permit for your international apparition has already been cleared."

"Thank you, my Lord. Until tomorrow." Leta bowed again, and Hermione quickly imitated her, before they both turned around and returned the same way they had come.

* * *

Hermione was very relieved when they were back home.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Leta said as she walked to her room to change.

"It wasn't as bad as I had expected. What is the book he wants?"

"I have no idea, really," Leta replied, taking the parchment out of her robes and putting it aside on the bedside table. "It's in a language I seem to recognise as Sumerian, but I'm not sure as I can't read that language. Can you?"

Hermione shook her head disappointedly.

* * *

Later that night, as they sat in the sofa with a cup of tea, Hermione wondered, "I didn't feel him enter my mind."

"You don't; only an extremely gifted Legilimens would be able to sense him, let alone block him."

"Well, that's not creepy at all," she commented sarcastically.

Leta smiled in amusement; she had been rubbing off on Hermione, it seemed, as the girl seemed to be using more sarcasm than before.

* * *

The next day passed quickly: they left early, dressed as muggles to fit in, and apparated to a spot a bit over an hour east of Zürich, in an alley of which the Dark Lord had put the name on the parchment for Leta to focus on in her apparition. The library that contained his book was called the Abbey Library of Saint Gall, and was not very far from the alley, on foot.

Inside the library, they soon found someone to Imperio to help them, and as Leta guessed this was why the Dark Lord had invited her to take Hermione, she told the girl to do it.

"What?" she hissed.

Leta calmly explained to her, "This is a test, to see if you are capable of casting certain spells in a real-life scenario."

"I don't have my wand," Hermione excused.

Covertly, Leta handed it to her, "Yes, you do. Now go. And remember: conviction is key."

She knew better than to disobey, so Hermione approached the woman who was putting books back in the shelves, Leta followed closely to observe. Meanwhile, she also kept an eye on another woman who was browsing, not far away.

"Excuse me, hello?" she spoke.

The woman turned, "Yes?"

"Could you tell me where the main librarian is?"

"I am she," the woman smiled, "what did you want to know?"

Leta was frowning: what was the girl attempting?

"Where can we find this book?" She showed the woman the parchment.

The woman looked at it for a moment, then back at her, confused, "I'm sorry, I don't seem to recognise this language. What is it?"

Leta cleared her throat pointedly.

With a sigh, Hermione finally cast, " _Imperio_."

Immediately, the librarian's eyes glazed over. Leta was pleased. She had expected it wouldn't work, since Hermione didn't seem to want to cast the curse, but despite this, apparently she did infuse enough conviction in her spellwork.

"Where is the magical section?"

"I don't know," the woman replied in a monotone.

"Have you seen oddly-dressed people come in here?"

"Yes."

"Where did they go?"

"To the basement."

Hermione ended the curse, cast an _Obliviate_ , and quickly walked away, Leta next to her.

"Very good, though next time you might want to immediately go for _Imperio_ ; it saves time."

In the basement, they found a door, concealed for muggles, which they easily slipped through thanks to the spell given to Leta by the Dark Lord. Soon enough, they had the book, and they could return.

Leta was just resealing the door, when the woman she had seen browsing earlier came down the stairs.

"Hey! what are you doing there?"

Both of them flinched, surprised at the woman's presence. Hermione was quick to react, however – which was needed, as Leta was still busy with the sealing spell.

Hermione raised her wand, ready to cast _Obliviate_ again, when the woman herself pulled out a wand. Hermione tried to disarm her, but the woman blocked the spell, and cast _Stupefy_ , which Hermione succeeded at evading.

Leta had just finished the spell on the door and turned around to observe Hermione's technique, when alongside the woman, two others appeared: a wizard and a witch. She immediately went to Hermione's side to assist. They were strong opponents, but the second witch was no match for Leta's dark magic, and succumbed to a flesh-eating curse.

Hermione seemed to be matched in power to the other witch, and didn't appear to gain ground, so Leta called out, just after sending a curse in the direction of the wizard, "Use the spells I taught you!"

The girl frowned upon hearing this, but when she noticed she was starting to lose ground with the witch, her facial expression turned decisive, and her spells darkened.

The wizard went down after a bout of _Crucio_ , and then a blood-boiling curse, which killed him.

Hermione killed the remaining witch with _Avada Kedavra_.

Leta looked on with a large smile how Hermione for the first time enjoyed the pleasurable sensation of using several dark spells in a duel, and casting _Avada Kedavra_. She had never experienced the high it gave one. Leta, too, was enjoying the rush dark magic gave, but was used to it enough that she could keep her head clear and simultaneously observe Hermione's reaction.

Then, the adrenaline still flowing, they locked eyes heatedly, and simultaneously leaned in for a kiss. Unlike all their previous kisses, which had been of a softer kind, this one was passionate and fiery. Leta reluctantly broke the kiss, and looked into Hermione's darkened eyes, "Let's go home."

She took the girl's hand, who eagerly went along, and they both hurried back to the alley they had apparated in.

Soon enough, they were back in London, in the alley next to Leta's building. Upon arriving, Hermione was pressed against the wall and she responded passionately to her lover's kiss.

They realised they would be much more comfortable in Leta's home, and hurried to the building, up the stairs, and to the woman's door. Easily, Leta undid her wards, and pulled Hermione inside as soon as the door was open.

That day was the first time they slept together.


	7. Mutatio

**Chapter 7: Mutatio**

A few hours later, Hermione woke. The alarm Leta had set for nine in the evening, when she would have to get ready to meet the Dark Lord, hadn't gone off yet, so it had to be earlier than that. She felt comfortable, warm and relaxed, and felt a body at her back. Dazedly, she opened her eyes, a small smile on her face.

Then her eyes fell upon the arm that was stretched out under her: for the first time, she saw the ominous tattoo on Leta's left arm in its entirety. The woman had always had it covered up, with sometimes just a small black line, nearly impossible to see, protruding from under her sleeves.

She started to frown: she had almost forgotten who, what Leta was. Her mind had somehow pushed her being a Death Eater aside, especially since she never saw any sign of it, and when Leta went to a meeting with the Dark Lord, she always simply said she was "going out", without specifics – which was why Hermione had been shocked to hear she had been summoned by the Dark Lord. But then, at the Dark Lord's headquarters, a place which should have made her realise what she was doing, and with whom, was wrong, nothing 'evil' had happened; so Hermione had rationalised being with Leta as being not so bad. Until she saw the mark on the woman's arm, the mark that had been cast up in the air above so many instances of dead people at the Death Eater's hands.

And she suddenly remembered what exactly had landed her in Leta's bed – oh God, what had she done? She had instinctively engaged and killed that witch in cold blood – it didn't matter that it had been kill or be killed; she had _killed_ the woman. And then, on the high the dark magic had given her, she'd had sex with Leta, a Death Eater.

Hermione was conflicted about her feelings. She felt horrible about her recent behaviour. She carefully got up out of the bed, and softly padded out of the room. She went to hers to quickly wash and put on clean clothes, after which she wanted to go to the kitchen for a glass of water. Halfway there, though, in the corridor, Hermione stopped: something was different. Frowning confusedly, she approached the front door, and tried to touch it. Disbelief streamed through her when she realised she could: the wards were down!

Thinking back to the night before, she indeed didn't recall Leta putting the wards back up after pulling her in; she had been way too occupied with that spot on her neck... Blushing at the memory, Hermione brought up her hand to the marks she knew were there, hidden under her hair.

Worrying that this might be a trap, she glanced behind her. Should she leave? Of course she should, she admonished herself, but did she want to? She should want to. She shouldn't want to stay here, with a Death Eater, with the possibility of being summoned to the Dark Lord – no, Voldemort, he wasn't her Lord, dammit – at any moment. She was horrified at her thoughts and feelings about the matter. And at what she had done. Not a year ago she would have run and never looked back without a second thought. Then, she thought about her friends, about her professors, about the Weasley's, who had become her second family. And she made her decision: if not for herself, she had to think of them – they had to be worried sick, by now. She opened the door and silently closed it again behind her.

Her heartbeat sped up, her breath came quicker. She hurried down to the front doors, exited, and went to the now-familiar alley. It was there she realised she had no wand.

"Damn it," she hissed under her breath, worriedly looking around.

She was about to go look for another way of transport, when she heard the tell-tale sound of apparition, deeper in the alley, in the shadows. She stumbled back, scared it might be a Death Eater. A dark, tall form neared her, and just when she was about to run off, she heard a very familiar voice, "Hermione? Is that you?"

She didn't dare believe it. "Kingsley?"

"Where is she, the Death Eater who took you? Is this a trap?" Kingsley now stood before her. He was looking her straight in the eye – to check for effects of the _Imperius_ , she suspected.

"No, no it isn't. She's upstairs." Hermione was in shock. Could this finally be when she got saved?

"Look at me."

Hermione looked the man straight in the eyes, immediately understanding he wanted to use Legilimency to check if it was truly her.

" _Legilimens_."

Soon after, he ended the spell; it hadn't lasted long, but apparently he was satisfied about what he had found. Considering the time he had taken in her mind, he couldn't have seen the things that had happened to her, the things she had done; he had only checked her intrinsic mind, which held her sense of self, as was the norm when checking for one's identity by Legilimency – she was relieved.

"How did you—? No. Let's keep questions for later. We have to get out of here before she notices you are gone."

"I—alright," she nodded.

"Take my arm."

And the alley was empty and quiet again.

* * *

The Dark Lord wasn't pleased. Leta sensed it through the strength of his _Cruciatus_ ; she didn't need to hear his clipped voice to know. She painfully pushed herself back up from the ground.

"You... Lost her, you say?" he reiterated.

The book she had acquired for him lay on the armrest of his throne. After giving it to him, she had confessed that upon waking, Hermione had been nowhere to be seen. She had realised her mistake in forgetting to put her wards back up, but didn't dare tell of this forgetfulness and simply said the girl had found a way to flee, without her wand.

"Yes my Lord," Leta head was bowed down. She was shaking from the aftershocks of the Cruciatus.

"Let me see."

She wanted to deny him – who knows how he would react to the truth? – but knew she couldn't. She looked up into his eyes, focussing her thoughts on her recent memories.

He had seen everything.

"Well, well, well," the Dark Lord chuckled. He stood and neared her. He started to circle her. "You had a lot of fun with this one, didn't you? You truly made her believe you cared."

"Yes, my Lord."

"I must say, I did have my doubts when I had seen her memories; such trust she had in you. But now, now I see what you did."

"Thank you, my Lord."

He was behind her now. He leaned forward to speak right next to her ear. "What would she say if she knew what you truly were? If she knew all that you have done?" His voice told her that he was thoroughly amused by the way she had manipulated Hermione.

Leta forced herself to stay calm, to not truly entertain that idea. She was good at hiding, at suppressing her emotions, even from herself. "She wouldn't have been manipulated as easily, if she had known. And she won't find out, except maybe when it will be too late. Otherwise further manipulation will be hard, if not impossible."

"Hm, true." He walked back around and returned to his chair. He fixated her with his cold eyes. She didn't quite know what he was thinking.

"Would she still be open to be on our side?"

"I honestly do not now, my Lord. But I can find out, and attempt to entirely bring her over."

"How?"

"Severus Snape, my Lord. He will be in frequent contact with the girl, through his work with the Order, won't he?"

"Indeed. I hope for your sake this will work."

"It will, my Lord."

"Very well. Then you will work with Severus on this matter. I will tell him he is to cooperate, should he doubt your word."

"Thank you, my Lord."

He dismissed her, and she was happy to return home: her nerves, her muscles, her very bones hurt, after the Cruciatus she had been subjected to.

* * *

"But what happened? How did you escape?"

Almost all of the present members of the Order, and especially Harry, Ron, Molly and Ginny, were bombarding Hermione with questions. She didn't answer. She had only said she didn't want to talk about it, not yet anyway, when they had first asked her about what had happened, but they hadn't listened, apparently. She supposed she understood their worry, but she was conflicted. Why had she slept with the Death Eater? How had she so easily cast _Avada Kedavra_? How had her mind changed so quickly on her opinion of Light versus Dark Magic? What was wrong with her?

Eventually Hermione got up and left the kitchen, ignoring all questions still. She soon found her room, where she laid down on the bed, after closing the door, not bothering to change out of her black dress.

Soon, she slept, exhausted from the stress, the offensive magic she had used, the time spent with Leta, and the flood of questions.

* * *

"You called for me, my Lord?" Severus questioned when he stood before the throne, bowing.

"Yes. You will soon be approached by Leta Watkins, and you will cooperate with her."

"Cooperate on what exactly, if I may, my Lord?"

"She will continue to mould Granger's mind through you; you will teach her on Leta's instructions."

Severus frowned. Before he could voice the question, the Dark Lord already replied, "Yes, she has indeed escaped and is presumably already back with the Order."

He nodded understandingly, "I will start as soon as possible, my Lord."

The Dark Lord nodded, pleased. "Good. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, my Lord." Severus bowed before leaving the room and returning to his home. It was late; he would go to the Order's Headquarters to get informed on miss Granger's escape in the morning.


	8. Aestimatio

**Chapter 8: Aestimatio**

At eight in the morning, most of the people at 12, Grimmauld Place were still asleep, with the exception of Lupin and Molly, who were both in the kitchen. Therefore, Severus had no trouble entering the house inconspicuously. He went up the stairs and soon found Granger's room, thanks to _Point Me_.

After casting _Muffliato_ around the door, he knocked.

"Go away," was the response he got.

She sounded decently awake, so he simply entered anyway.

The girl, seated on the bed with her back leaning against the wall, and holding a book, looked up, annoyed, "What did I— Oh."

"Good morning, miss Granger."

She looked rather fearful and surprised. Not caring about her feelings, he just got straight to the point.

"Tell me: how, exactly, did you escape from a highly trained Death Eater without even having a wand?"

She frowned, "Like I already—"

He interrupted her, "I am not interested in whatever foolish tales you told your friends. Tell me the truth."

After a short moment's deliberation, she answered, "The wards were down."

Severus raised an eyebrow.

"They were!" she insisted.

"Forgive me if I find that hard to believe. Was she perhaps distracted in some way?"

"N—No, not that I know of," Hermione stuttered.

He didn't believe her. At all. But apparently Leta had taught the girl some Occlumency: he wasn't able to get in her mind without her noticing, as her guard was up right now – and intruding without her consent would ruin the potential of her trusting him in the future. Hopefully he would find a later time at which she would be distracted enough that he would be able to take a quick glimpse at the girl's memories. Her behaviour was odd, to say the least; she didn't seem to have a logical reason for her escape, and she didn't seem to want to divulge any information she had gained.

"Has she turned you?" he questioned.

"Excuse me?" Now the girl definitely looked fearful.

"Have you changed sides?"

"Of course not!" she seemed to have recovered from the unexpected question, and appeared truthful and honest. Severus still wasn't convinced.

* * *

After her meeting with the Dark Lord, and after having taken some pain-relief potion, Leta had gone to the Lestrange's home, from where she had taken Bellatrix with her on a night out. She had told the woman of her failure, and her anger about the foolish mistake. Bellatrix had rationalized by saying that she would not have to pretend with the mudblood anymore, and that the two of them could finally continue their earlier arrangement. Shortly after that statement, the two women had ended up in Leta's bed again.

Leta was woken up by her wards signalling her someone was at the door. She stumbled out of bed and pulled on her dressing gown.

Bellatrix woke too at her movements. "Stay here," she groaned.

"Someone's at the door," Leta replied.

Bellatrix huffed, "So?"

Leta laughed, shaking her head, and left the room.

Still with a smile on her face, she opened the door. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Severus? What are you doing here? Come on in."

He entered and, as she closed the door and took his cloak, explained, "I've spoken to both the Dark Lord and miss Granger."

"Oh! Right. You do know I was going to call upon you, right?" She directed him to the kitchen as they spoke, where he sat down and she started to make coffee.

"Indeed, but after my talk with her this morning, I cannot help but question what exactly you did to the girl."

"Oh, nothing she didn't want, I'm sure," Bellatrix' voice sounded from the doorway.

Severus looked up at the woman. If he was surprised at her presence, he didn't show it, ever his stoic self.

Bellatrix plopped down on a chair at the kitchen table. From her hair and make-up, not yet cleaned up, it was clear she had spent the night, though she had unwrinkled her dress.

"Coffee?" Leta asked.

"Yes, please, love," Bellatrix replied.

Soon, Leta sat with them at the table, each of them a cup before them. For a moment, they drank their coffee in silence.

"This is a private matter, so if you don't mind?" Severus spoke after a while, raising his eyebrows as he pointedly looked at Bellatrix.

"Ooh, 'private'?" she smiled wickedly at Leta.

"Yes. It's about a mission the Dark Lord gave us."

"Ah, yes, about the mudblood I suppose."

Leta nodded, "Yes."

"Oh well, I should get going anyway."

The woman downed what remained in her cup, stood, and after quickly kissing Leta, she left the kitchen. They heard her rummaging in Leta's bedroom, and soon she was back in the doorway, hair and makeup properly done, now. "Till later!"

"Bye, Bellatrix."

Severus merely nodded.

As soon as she was gone, Leta asked, "So what did she tell you?"

Severus fixed his dark eyes on her, clearly wanting to try and read her reaction as best as he could, "That she could escape because your wards were down." To his annoyance, she displayed no outward reaction.

"That is true."

"Really?" His tone was disbelieving.

"Yes. But on to more important matters: I thought it might be best if you convinced the Order that you want to give Hermione Occlumency classes, to deal with what she went through here, supposedly. This way, you'd have a reason for giving her classes one-on-one."

"Right. Are you certain there is nothing you should tell me about what happened here, so I am entirely up to date?"

"Well, I gave her books to read, ranging from light to dark magic, I taught her some Occlumency to evade future curious Order members, and I also practiced some dueling with her. Other than that I was very lenient: no punishments, only rewards. This helped to convince her that I wasn't 'evil', and made her realize our side isn't as bad as it is always being portrayed."

"Rewards? Such as?"

"I took her out to muggle London, to do some cultural visits, to go shopping for clothing, and to go eat and drink – it made her think I trusted her."

"Anything else?"

"Not especially, no. Ah! Except: She killed someone in her first duel since being here."

Severus looked up with a frown, "When?"

"Yesterday. I'm guessing that she was shocked by her own actions, and that's why she left."

"So she for the first time experienced the rush that comes along with making a kill."

"Yes, of course," Leta played dumb.

"And she didn't react in a… specific way?" he prodded.

"What are you talking about? She was high on the power, as was to be expected, that's it."

"Hm."

Leta narrowed her eyes at him, knowing what he was getting at, but not willing to tell the entire truth – he didn't need to know.

"Right. So you'll get her to participate in Occlumency lessons, and if you see she still leans somewhat to our side, I'd like for you to give her this."

Leta took a scrap piece of parchment from the counter top behind her, and quickly wrote a message on it. She handed it to him after having folded it and having cast a spell on it, ensuring it would only be readable to Hermione.

"Last I checked, she seemed to be grey, balancing right in between light and dark."

Severus nodded understandingly and got up from his chair, "I'll give it to her, and I'll report back as soon as I have news. If you need to contact me, I'll be staying at Hogwarts starting tomorrow."

"Alright. Until soon."

He nodded in goodbye, grabbed his cloak, and left the apartment.

* * *

After returning Hermione to the Order, Kingsley had gotten word from Tonks that a mission in Switzerland that some British Aurors, who were affiliated with the Order, had been put on, on Minerva McGonagall's orders, had ended badly: the three bodies had been found after they hadn't reported back.

He went there to assist. One of the things he did, was check magical traces: perhaps a known Death Eater had been involved, which signature they would then be able to recognize. What he found was unexpected, to say the least. As soon as he could, he returned to 12, Grimmauld Place, to report back to Minerva.

"That isn't possible," the professor denied, shaking her head.

They were in the Black Library, having silenced and warded the room before Kingsley began relaying the news.

"And yet it is true. No mistake possible."

Minerva frowned. "Could she have been under the Imperius?"

Kingsley shrugged, "I suppose so, but the intensity of the spell seems to suggest otherwise: one under the Imperious, ordered to kill someone who they wouldn't kill without being influenced by that spell, tends to not put as much magic in the Killing Curse as was found here."

She sighed deeply. "Alright. I'll put Severus on it; with Legilimency he'll find out whether she has truly been turned."

"I'm sorry to have to bring this news, Minerva."

"I am too," she replied.


	9. De Docendo

**Chapter 9: De Docendo**

When Severus entered Headquarters, intending to give Hermione Leta's message and try to gain some information from the surface of the girl's mind as she read the parchment and hopefully let her guard down for a moment, he was stopped in his tracks by Minerva, who just exited from the Library.

"Ah, Severus. I wanted to speak to you about Miss Granger."

"Yes?"

"I'd like to know what exactly happened to her while she was taken; perhaps you could start Occlumency lessons with her to find out?" she suggested.

Severus nodded, pleased that he now would have a completely legitimate excuse for spending time with the girl, "When shall I start?"

"As soon as possible, if you will."

He simply nodded his agreement, before continuing on his way to the stairs.

Minerva, clearly having much on her mind, didn't seem to notice nor question him going upstairs. He wondered whether she had found out about the girl's kill.

Hermione sat again on her bed, reading. This time she wasn't as surprised to see him.

"Miss Granger," he started, after casting _Muffliato_ again, "I have a message for you."

She frowned, confused, and took the note he extended to her.

He focussed on her, and as she read, he was able to make out a few things in her mind without her noticing. What he found seemed to explain her odd behaviour: the girl had developed some affection for Leta, apparently.

" _Please trust Severus, he has your best interest in mind, as do I._

 _I hope I'll see you soon,_

 _love,_

 _Leta"_

Upon finishing the note, Hermione looked up with wide eyes. "Are you—? I mean, what—what is this?" she stuttered, discomfited.

"It is a note from the Death Eater Leta Watkins to yourself, miss Granger," he drily replied.

"But, how? Did you talk to her? Why are you giving me this? What is going on?"

"The Dark Lord has given me the order to cooperate with Leta on your teachings, as Leta no longer has direct access to you."

He knew she wanted to know whose side he was on, but he didn't intend to give her that information.

"Incidentally," he continued, "Professor McGonagall has told me to give you classes on Occlumency."

Hermione swallowed fearfully. "Why?"

"I suspect because she thinks you have switched sides, and she wants me to use Legilimency on you in an inconspicuous way to find out," he replied honestly, following Leta's example of putting light on the Order's negative aspects – lack of trust in a central member, however deserved – to continue the girl's indoctrination.

"I haven't!" she denied vehemently, before clearly realizing whom she was talking to, and promptly turning red.

He simply raised an eyebrow at her outburst.

* * *

"I will have to take some measurements, of course," Ollivander told Hermione and Professor Snape, after the Professor had explained Hermione's loss of her wand.

"Of course," Hermione nodded.

The wand maker took the necessary measurements, spoke them aloud, and the numbers appeared on a piece of parchment he had laying on his desk. Afterwards he took her right hand with his left, and put his other hand on her left shoulder. Before going any further, her explained, "I also have to feel out your magical core, so I can create a wand suited to your magic."

Hermione nodded her understanding.

The man closed his eyes and concentrated. His frown became deeper. All over her body, Hermione suddenly felt hyper-conscious about her nerves, along which Ollivander's magic seemed to travel. It was an odd experience, but soon ended.

He reopened his eyes and gravely looked her in the eyes, with something Hermione recognised as worry.

"What?" Professor Snape questioned from his post by the door.

"Nothing… I am merely surprised by the darkness of miss Granger's magical core."

Hermione swallowed, wondering whether he could have sensed that she had killed someone, but he said no more about it.

"I will let you know when your wand is finished, Miss Granger. It shouldn't take very long."

Hermione thanked him, and she and Professor Snape left his room.

* * *

The first day of Severus teaching Miss Granger, he explained to her the principles of Occlumency and Legilimency, going into the theory more than Leta had. They did not have the time to go over to practical work, as they were in the Order's headquarters, where they could be interrupted at any moment, and Severus had not yet had the chance to talk to Minerva about teaching Hermione at his place. He gave the girl some books to read on the subject, and told her to practice, as he would talk to Minerva that evening, and the next day he would try to penetrate her mind, when he would have succeeded at convincing Minerva that his house was a better place for practice.

Indeed, Minerva accepted his reasons, and trusted him, so, starting the next day, she let Severus and Miss Granger use the floo to go to Spinner's End.

It had been Leta's idea to get Hermione to Spinner's End for lessons, so that, when Hermione would be ready, Leta would be able to visit her without the Order's knowledge.

* * *

Severus pulled away from Hermione's mind and ended the spell, not having expected what he had seen just now.

"That's private!" Hermione exclaimed, looking at him angrily and somewhat flushed.

"Then you should shield your mind."

"I'm trying!"

* * *

Leta opened the door, and Severus stepped inside, past her, without invitation. She turned around, eyebrows raised at his lack of manners.

"You slept with her."

That was not what she had been expecting. "Good morning to you too, Severus."

"And she clearly has some remaining... Affection for you."

"And?"

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You know very well what I'm asking."

"This is none of your business: you were merely to teach—"

"You forgot to put up wards: her escape was a direct result of your sleeping with her."

"Yes, well, I was kind of occupied with other things at the time."

"Does the Dark Lord know?"

"Seriously? What do you think?" Leta mocked, incensed by his accusations.

"I think you were playing a dangerous game before she fled."

Still mockingly, Leta laughed, "Oh really? Well, just let me tell you this: the Dark Lord questioned me about her escape, found out the reason, and congratulated me for my manipulation."

"Why did you not tell me earlier?"

"Because it wasn't relevant."

"We are on this task together, and I do not appreciate being at a disadvantage."

"Well, you weren't: you got no negative results from me not telling you before. Now, how is she?"

* * *

Several times, Hermione had to avoid her best friends: she did not want to have to lie to them, but she would have no choice if she were to talk to them. Undoubtedly they would ask questions she could not answer. Nearly a week after her return, however, they cornered her in the library.

"Hermione?"

She looked up from the book in her hands, and saw the two boys standing next to her, blocking the way to the door. She hadn't noticed them come in.

"Hello Harry, Ron," she calmly replied, hoping they would not ask their incessant questions.

"You have been avoiding us, haven't you?"

"I've been busy…"

"Hermione, what is going on? Even at the busiest times of the year at school, you still had time to talk."

"Yes, well, what I'm doing now is harder and even more important."

"What's going on, Hermione? What's up with the 'classes' Snape is giving you?"

"He's teaching me Occlumency." She decided to omit the fact that he was also teaching her relatively dark spells, continuing Leta's instruction, since she knew her friends would immediately think her a dark witch. She wasn't. She just thought she would be more able to help Harry fight against the Death Eaters if she understood and practised the magic they used.

"But why? Why do you need to learn that?"

"Because I—" she shook her head at herself, and continued, "I don't want to talk about it."

"It's about what happened when you were with them, isn't it?" Harry guessed.

Ron lost his patience, and exclaimed, "Why won't you tell us what happened there? We're your best mates!"

It hurt Hermione to do so, but she merely shook her head, and slipped between the two, making her way to the door.

* * *

"Have you found something yet, Severus?" asked a tired-looking Minerva.

"Not yet. I suspect that if Kingsley is indeed correct and she did indeed kill someone, as you told me, she might have been so shocked at her own behaviour that her mind has tucked it away in some hidden corner, blocking it for her own sanity."

Minerva sighed and nodded. "Anything else of importance? What was done to her there? She hasn't been the same since her return."

"I found traces of psychological torture: they induced illusions, making her believe her worst fears had come true."

"Poor girl." Minerva sighed once more. "You will tell me if you find anything else, won't you?"

"Of course, Minerva. Good evening."

"Good evening, Severus."

* * *

"It doesn't make sense! Why is she so different?" Ron asked, exasperated.

"She must've gone through a lot," Harry shrugged.

"Well, yeah, but what? And she no longer talks with us! We hardly ever see her anymore!"

"I don't know. I want to know why Snape suddenly wants to give her Occlumency classes. I mean, it's not like she has a connection with Vol— You-Know-Who like I do, right?"

"Yeah. And about that: Fred and George told me they overheard McGonagall telling him to give her those classes."

Harry frowned. "But why?"

"That's what I'd like to know! They heard just the end of the conversation they had, so they couldn't say."

"What if... What if we're right and Snape is a Death Eater, and—" Harry started.

"No," Ron denied.

"But, Ron, what if she's—"

"No, Harry, it wouldn't make sense. This is Hermione we're talking about."

"But she spent an awful long time in captivity, and she doesn't have any wounds or anything."

"Well yeah, but it still wouldn't make sense—why would they want her, and why would she ever join them?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. There's probably some logical explanation. I just wish she'd talk to us again."

"Me too, mate, me too."


	10. Umbra

**Chapter 10: Umbra**

Harry had gone, and Hermione and Ron were hurrying towards the Chamber to get Basilisk teeth.

Through his connection with Voldemort, Harry had seen that there was a Horcrux at Hogwarts. As soon as he'd had his vision, he had informed his friends, after which the three of them had consulted the Order. It had been decided Harry, Ron and Hermione would go to Hogwarts, accompanied by a few Order members for protection.

Despite the fact they thought they had succeeded at getting inside without being detected, the Death Eaters had still found out about Harry Potter's presence in the castle. They didn't know how, but they didn't exactly have the time to figure it out – getting to the Horcrux was their number one priority now.

Suddenly, behind them, Hermione heard an awfully familiar voice, "Hey, mudblood!"

Since the fight in the Ministry, she could easily recognise whom the voice belonged to. She stopped, as did Ron, who was holding her hand. He looked at her, surprised, when he felt her stop. Hermione turned towards the voice, and her suspicion was confirmed: Antonin Dolohov was advancing quickly towards her and Ron.

"You—," the Death Eater started, but he was interrupted by a big piece of wall falling down near him, having been hit by a stray curse from the other side.

Hermione took advantage of the man's distraction, and quickly cast _Petrificus Totalus_.

* * *

She was hurrying through the castle, casting left and right at members of the Light, searching for the boy-who-lived on her Lord's orders, just like the other Death Eaters. It was a good thing for them that Severus had chosen to help their side after all, despite the suspicion of many of the Death Eaters, that he was on the boy's side. Without him they would not have found out so quickly about Harry Potter's presence in the castle.

Suddenly, up ahead, she caught sight of a familiar head of brown curls. Leta hadn't seen the girl since the fateful day she had gotten away, as Hermione, according to Severus, had not been ready just yet for Leta to visit at Spinner's End – indeed, it hadn't been that long since the girl's escape.

She saw how Hermione cast _Petrificus Totalus_ on Antonin, who had just been distracted from his course towards her by a big piece of a nearby wall falling to the ground. Angered, Leta took big steps in Hermione's direction. She only noticed the redhead with her when he suddenly flew into Hermione's arms to hug her. Leta saw red with the betrayal. Had Severus not said he had succeeded at convincing Hermione? Had she not nearly been able to visit? She would have to have a talk with her colleague. But first her former charge.

She stepped in so unexpectedly to them, that Hermione nor the boy had noticed her coming before she forcefully separated the two.

"What—?" sputtered the redhead as he fell backwards, lost his balance, and hit the ground, because of the force with which Leta threw him back.

Hermione gasped, her eyes widened, when she recognised Leta and saw her anger.

Leta pinned the girl to the wall she had at her back, her right forearm holding her there by the shoulders, so her wand arm was still free. In the same movement, she roughly ripped the girl's wand from her hand, putting it away in a pocket.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Leta questioned forcefully. Hermione clearly had difficulty replying.

"Hey! Let her go!" The redhead called out as he tried to get back up from the floor to Leta's left, wand at the ready.

" _Expelliarmus_. _Immobulus. Silencio_ ," she cast on the redhead, sadistically wanting him to witness this. Next, still keeping her eye on Hermione as she cast behind her, she freed Antonin with a _Finite_. She felt Hermione's breathing speed up even more in fear.

"Thank you, Leta," Antonin spoke as he stood. He moved to stand next to her.

"I've got this, Antonin, go," she told him, glancing at him to address him.

He nodded, shot another dark look at Hermione, and left, joining the fight again.

Hermione got her full attention again. "Now. Tell me: why did you betray us?" From the corner of her eye, she noticed the redhead's disbelieving eyes widen. "Or, if not us, me?"

Hermione opened and closed her mouth a few times, but nothing came out. When Leta pointed her wand at the redhead, however, she finally spoke, "Please, no!"

Leta raised an eyebrow, "So you care for this boy after all, hm? Don't you worry, love, I merely thought he would want to say something." She cast _Finite_ on the Silencing spell, but kept the Immobility spell on him. Immediately a flood of words came out.

"What the hell? Hermione what is she saying? She's lying, right? You're a liar," he then addressed Leta, "Hermione would never betray us!"

Amused, Leta asked, "Oh really? Then why did she sleep with me?"

"You lie!"

Leta turned her head back to Hermione, "Do I? Lie?"

Tears pooled in the girl's eyes, torn about her feelings.

"Hermione?" the redhead asked, sounding less certain all of a sudden.

"Come on, love, do answer the poor boy."

"You're evil," Hermione spit out, a first tear making its way down her cheek.

"Am I? Did I ever treat you badly?"

Hermione merely frowned, not replying.

The redhead was speechless, it appeared.

Leta removed her forearm from Hermione's shoulders, and took the girl's chin in her now freed hand. "Look at me."

Eyes glazed with tears looked up at her.

"Is it true what Severus told me? Do you still have feelings for me?"

Hermione swallowed, torn between wanting to save her friends, and wanting to be with Leta. Eventually she gave the smallest of nods, closing her eyes in defeat.

Since her eyes were closed, she didn't see the decidedly dark smirk that bloomed over the previously loving face of Leta.

She closed the tired, crying girl in her arms, hugging her tightly, proud of her success.

Ron did see the evil-looking smirk, and would have told Hermione to worry, but he felt betrayed, and felt she got what she deserved—he still had difficulty processing what he had just learned, but he was decidedly hurt by it.

Hermione hoped she would be able to save her friends from a relatively elevated position at Leta's side, should Voldemort indeed win – surely Leta would continue to protect her from the Dark wizard's wrath, as she had before? It was the only hope she had left at this point. What else could she do in this situation? The only other option was telling Leta she chose Harry's side, and getting tortured and captured.

So many people had died already, so many more would die if this went on. And she was so tired of it all. Maybe Harry could flee, buy time to destroy the remaining Horcruxes, if he was able to find out what the last one was. And then they could try again. Meanwhile, she could try to save her friends that would be caught from inside the Dark side, being with Leta. Hermione resigned herself to these thoughts, and gave in to the calming hug she was being given.

* * *

"Come on, let's go," Leta spoke, letting go of Hermione.

She frowned, "Go where?"

Leta smiled, "You'll see."

She put her arm around the girl's shoulders, and pointed her wand at Weasley. Before Hermione could protest, worried about what she was planning, Leta had cast _finite_. Still pointing her wand at the boy, she ordered, "Walk. And be warned: I will kill you if you fail to comply."

He was clearly angry at this turn of events, but was smart enough to follow a Death Eater's order when her wand was pointed at him.

Leta led them outside, directing the Weasley every now and then on which way to go, walking quickly, navigating between stray spells and curses. She took a longer, though calmer route, following the castle walls and the edges of the forbidden forest, instead of going through all the duellists on the grounds. She only had to block a few spells, and nothing hit them. She shielded Hermione by keeping her at the side of the castle's walls, and then the trees, still holding her by the shoulders.

When she indicated they were to enter the forest, Leta felt Hermione stiffen before speaking, "Why?"

"Because that's where our destination is," Leta replied simply. Hermione didn't ask any further questions.

After a bit of a walk between the trees, they came upon an open space, where they encountered the Dark Lord and the few followers who weren't actively searching for the boy.

Weasley stopped walking when he saw this scene, as did Hermione, and Leta had to forcefully pull her along to go closer. As she walked past the frozen Weasley she put her wand to his back, forcing him along as well. When they were near enough to her taste, she pushed the boy down using a shock-like spell against his back, which sent him to his knees. Using a much softer touch, she pushed Hermione slightly forward with her hand, so she was no longer holding the girl.

The Dark Lord observed their arrival in a pleased silence. Bellatrix, who stood at the dark wizard's side, started cackling upon seeing who was there.

Leta bowed slightly, as she greeted, "My Lord."

"Hello, Leta. What do we have here?" he spoke rhetorically as he stood.

She smiled darkly, "I thought these two might be useful."

Hermione swiftly turned her head upon hearing this, and looked at her, unsure and somewhat afraid. Leta ignored her and continued to watch her Lord. Hermione turned back, looking down, clearly worried.

He first approached Hermione. "Look at me, girl."

Picking his long friendship over his anger, apparently, Weasley exclaimed, "Leave her alone!"

The Dark Lord looked up, seeming interested in the redhead's behaviour.

"Excuse me?" he sounded amused.

"I said, leave her alone!" the boy repeated, looking straight at the Dark Lord.

Leta frowned – he was clearly brave yet very stupid to challenge the Dark Lord like this.

" _Crucio._ "

As soon as he started to scream, Hermione, looking horrified, cried out, "No! Stop it!"

Leta refused to admit the anger she felt was tinged with jealousy.

The Dark Lord let the torture go on for just a few more moments before ending it and returning his attention to Hermione. He stepped closer to her once more and grabbed her chin. This time she didn't lower her eyes, she stared him down defiantly.

It didn't take long before he let her go, pushing her away. Leta knew what he had likely seen, and wasn't surprised when he turned to her, eyebrows raised. She swallowed, trying to stand her ground against the punishment she thought probable.

"Curious, that girl's mind," he spoke, "you must've played quite the trick on her."

"My Lord?" Leta asked, wondering what he was getting to.

"She is still loyal to the boy, yet you have led her to think some dark magic isn't all that bad, and that you are… very nice."

Bellatrix cackled again – no doubt due to the implication of the Dark Lord's last observation.

"I—," Leta began, but he interrupted her: "Lucky for you, the girl's loyalty is no longer important."

Without further explanation, the Dark Lord turned away and returned to where he had been sitting before. Leta frowned, slightly confused, yet relieved.

After casting the sonorous charm on his voice, so he'd be heard by all those on the grounds, including the intended of his message, the Dark Lord spoke, "Harry Potter, you have been hiding behind many men and women to avoid being found. I have two friends of yours here now, however: will you keep hiding? Or will you finally come and face me in the Forbidden forest? The longer you wait, the longer they will be tortured."

* * *

Harry had been running down a hallway on the first floor, looking for his friends, when he heard the chilling voice. He immediately guessed Voldemort must have somehow caught Ron and Hermione, when he mentioned 'two friends'. If it wasn't a lie to lure him out. But what if it wasn't a lie? Especially since he hadn't found the two at the meeting place they had decided on, earlier. He could not risk it: he had to go and check, and try to save them.

Harry didn't make much of a plan before moving towards the Forbidden forest: he didn't have the time. He would figure something out. This wouldn't be the first time he escaped death at Voldemort's hands.

* * *

Leta noticed the betrayed and fearful look on Hermione's face at the mention of torture. She couldn't do anything about it however, nor did she really want to – she was still bitter that she had failed at converting the girl the way she had planned. Leta was standing next to a giddy Bellatrix, while the Weasley and Hermione had not moved from where she had dropped them upon arrival. Regularly, Hermione glanced at her, as though waiting for her to intervene.

After his message, the Dark Lord motioned towards the redhead as he looked at Dolohov, "Make sure he'll still be in a state to be questioned."

The Russian grinned and nodded, before moving closer to the boy. It didn't take long for Weasley to start screaming.

Bellatrix was pouting slightly, and Leta noticed. "Come now, you'll have plenty of opportunity later," she consoled her.

This seemed to cheer her up some, and the pout was replaced by her usual wicked smile.

As she, and undoubtedly many of the others, had expected, it didn't take long for the foolishly heroic boy-who-lived to appear from between the trees, wand at the ready, cautiously looking around.


	11. Nox

**Chapter 11: Nox**

"Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. Lord Voldemort brings you his body as proof that your hero is gone.

"The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live, and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."

* * *

Harry was lost, and with him, much of the hope for victory against Voldemort's dark forces. The battle continued, the light would never give up without a fight. But it was a losing fight. The dark side's forces were stronger, more numerous, had no scruples. The battle didn't last for much longer. The light, trapped in the once magnificent castle, was dying.

Some were able to flee, saw that as the smarter option, to perhaps later build up a new, a stronger resistance movement. But most fell.

Death welcomed many that night.

* * *

Leta and Bellatrix entered the room Hermione was being kept in. Bellatrix was giddy, Leta was feeling angry and vengeful. The latter was wearing her Death Eater robes, and held herself in a strict manner.

At first, Hermione didn't recognise the woman, but when she did, she was horrified: Leta looked cold, harsh, like a typical, evil Death Eater – she exuded rage.

When Bellatrix caught Hermione's horrified, unbelieving look at Leta, she laughed, "Oh, that's right! You haven't seen or met the _real_ Leta yet!"

"Who are you?" Hermione fearfully asked Leta.

Leta smirked in dark amusement at the girl's fear.

The Dark Lord came in. He had ordered this session to find out any information Granger may hold about the remaining free members of the Order and the Light. He had invited Leta for the torturing part, as he felt he might get an amusing show from seeing Granger react to Leta when she took off the loving façade, now that further manipulation was no longer needed. Bellatrix had invited herself, but he was in a good mood, so he allowed her presence—he was aware of Leta and Bellatrix's arrangement, so he wasn't surprised she wanted to be here.

Before Leta could reply, the Dark Lord answered in her stead, having heard Hermione's question, "She is Leta Watkins, one of my most useful Death Eaters, as she is a magnificent manipulator."

It didn't take long for Hermione to understand what he was saying, "You pretended! All this time, you pretended?!"

"Well, I did enjoy it, I must admit, so that must count for something, right?"

Bellatrix cackled at Leta's words.

Leta continued in a more serious tone, then, "You betrayed me. You were with me for months, I taught you, I helped you, and what do I get in return? Betrayal. And I do not tolerate betrayal." She was furious. Any feelings of happiness Hermione's presence had once brought, had been squashed.

Seating himself on the throne before which Hermione had been thrown on the ground, the Dark Lord interrupted, "Enough pleasantries. Let us begin."

 _Fin_


	12. Final Note

**Author's Note:**

I hope you all enjoyed this short story. Thank you all for coming along in this journey: this is the first time I have completed a story that is more than 1000 words in length, and I must say I am proud to have finally succeeded in this endeavor. It will certainly not be the last.

I will be writing a prequel to this story, in which Leta's past will be unveiled. I do not yet know when, but I will write it and post it to this same platform, under this same username.

Have a great day, all, and hopefully until soon!


	13. Contest

Hey all!

I'm participating in a Harry Potter contest with this story, on the writing platform Sweek. It would mean a lot to me if you were to follow my story on there, as the one with the most followers to their story can get a nice Harry Potter-themed price.

This is the link to the story on there (replace dot by a . and remove the spaces)

sweek dot com / story / BgMGAglsCAUFBwgJAwEFBw==

My username on there is JulieFJAD.

The contest is called "my Potter world", and you may find it by googling "My Potter World sweek contest"

Thank you in advance, and thanks again for reading and following this story!

Have a great day!


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